Christmas was coming and my ten-year-old Alice told her father and me that she wanted a new bike.  Her bike was too   1  , and it needed repairing as well.
As Christmas   2 ,  her dream for a bike seemed to disappear, we thought, for she didn't say it again. We were busy  3  some beautiful story books, a doll house, a holiday dress and toys. Then to our surprise, on December 24, she said she really wanted a bike more than   4 .
Now we didn't know   5  to do. It was just too late. We were busy with Christmas dinner and packing  6  presents, parents' presents, a brother's present and friends' presents till midnight. So there was   7  time to take to buy the "right hike" for our little girl. Thinking we were parents who would make their child unhappy, we felt sorry and   8 .
Suddenly my husband had an idea. "What about making a little bike with clay (黏土) and writing a note that she could trade in (交换) the model bike for a real one?" So he spent the next five hours carefully __9__ with clay to make a small bike.
  10  Christmas morning, we were so excited for Alice to open the little box with the beautiful red and white clay bike and the note. She opened and read the   11  loudly. She looked at me and said, "So, does this mean I can trade in this bike for a real  12 _?" Smiling, I said, "Yes!" Alice had tears in her eyes when she replied, "I would  13  trade in this beautiful bike Daddy made me. I __14 _ keep it than get a real bike. This is the best Christmas present   15  I have ever got in my life!"

It was a quiet village in which there was a military camp. It was far from the towns and cities and there were some high mountains around. Of course it was a good place for training the new soldiers. But it was difficult for the young men to go outside. Mr. White, an officer of forty, was strict with them and he hardly let them leave the camp.
　　Once Mr. White was ill in bed. He couldn't work, so a young officer, Mr. Hunt, began to train the new soldiers instead of him. He knew the young men well and let nine soldiers go to the nearest town to have a holiday. But night fell and none came back to the camp. He was worried about it and stood at the gate. It was five to twelve when Mr. Hunt decided to go to the town and see what was happening with the young men. He started the car quickly and set off. At that moment the nine soldiers came back. It seemed they were all drunk. Of course they found the officer was angry.
　　"I'm sorry, sir," said the first soldier. "I left the town on time. But something was wrong with my bus on my way here. I had to buy a horse and made it run fast. Bad luck! It died and I had to run back."
　　And the other seven soldiers said they were late for the same reasons. It was the last soldier's turn. He said, "I'm sorry, sir. I got on a bus on time, but…"
　　Having heard this, the officer became even angrier and stopped him at once. He called out, "If you say something was wrong with your bus, I'll punish you at once!"
　　"No, no, sir," said the young man. "My bus was all right, but their horses were in the way!"
【小题1】The military camp was built in the village to _______.

Christmas was coming and my ten-year-old Alice told her father and me that she wanted a new bike.  Her bike was too   1  , and it needed repairing as well.

As Christmas   2 ,  her dream for a bike seemed to disappear, we thought, for she didn't say it again. We were busy  3  some beautiful story books, a doll house, a holiday dress and toys. Then to our surprise, on December 24, she said she really wanted a bike more than   4 .

Now we didn't know   5  to do. It was just too late. We were busy with Christmas dinner and packing  6  presents, parents' presents, a brother's present and friends' presents till midnight. So there was   7  time to take to buy the "right hike" for our little girl. Thinking we were parents who would make their child unhappy, we felt sorry and   8 .

Suddenly my husband had an idea. "What about making a little bike with clay (黏土) and writing a note that she could trade in (交换) the model bike for a real one?" So he spent the next five hours carefully __9__ with clay to make a small bike.

  10  Christmas morning, we were so excited for Alice to open the little box with the beautiful red and white clay bike and the note. She opened and read the   11  loudly. She looked at me and said, "So, does this mean I can trade in this bike for a real  12 _?" Smiling, I said, "Yes!" Alice had tears in her eyes when she replied, "I would  13  trade in this beautiful bike Daddy made me. I __14 _ keep it than get a real bike. This is the best Christmas present   15  I have ever got in my life!"

1.                A．new           B．old            C．beautiful  D．modern

2.                A．came nearer     B．was over        C．went by  D．passed

3.                A．buy            B．bought         C．to buy    D．buying

4.                A．something else   B．anything else     C．else something D．else anything

5.                A．what           B．how           C．why D．where

6.                A．children        B．children's       C．boy  D．girls

7.                A．enough         B．no             C．much D．still a little

8.                A．happy          B．excited         C．sad  D．angry

9.                A．works          B．worked         C．working  D．to work

10.               A．In             B．On            C．At    D．For

11.               A．book          B．story           C．note  D．newspaper

12.               A．one           B．ones           C．some D．any

13.               A．usually         B．certainly        C．never D．of course

14.               A．am going to     B．would like to     C．had better D．would rather

15.               A．who           B．those          C．what  D．that

It was a quiet village in which there was a military camp. It was far from the towns and cities and there were some high mountains around. Of course it was a good place for training the new soldiers. But it was difficult for the young men to go outside. Mr. White, an officer of forty, was strict with them and he hardly let them leave the camp.

　　Once Mr. White was ill in bed. He couldn't work, so a young officer, Mr. Hunt, began to train the new soldiers instead of him. He knew the young men well and let nine soldiers go to the nearest town to have a holiday. But night fell and none came back to the camp. He was worried about it and stood at the gate. It was five to twelve when Mr. Hunt decided to go to the town and see what was happening with the young men. He started the car quickly and set off. At that moment the nine soldiers came back. It seemed they were all drunk. Of course they found the officer was angry.

　　"I'm sorry, sir," said the first soldier. "I left the town on time. But something was wrong with my bus on my way here. I had to buy a horse and made it run fast. Bad luck! It died and I had to run back."

　　And the other seven soldiers said they were late for the same reasons. It was the last soldier's turn. He said, "I'm sorry, sir. I got on a bus on time, but…"

　　Having heard this, the officer became even angrier and stopped him at once. He called out, "If you say something was wrong with your bus, I'll punish you at once!"

　　"No, no, sir," said the young man. "My bus was all right, but their horses were in the way!"

1.The military camp was built in the village to _______.

A．stop the soldiers going to towns

B．stop the soldiers meeting their friends

C．train the new soldiers

D．make the young men live quietly

2.The nine soldiers returned to the camp late because _______.

A．something was wrong with their buses

B．their horses died on the way back

C．it took them much time to run back

D．they all had drunk much in the town

3.The underlined phrase in the way in the last paragraph means ______.

A．stopping somebody from moving

B．getting drunk

C．standing on the road

D．running very fast